Men’s soccer falls 1-0 in Elite Eight

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St. Thomas defender Halvor Houg races with a North Park University player for the ball. The Tommies lost in the Elite Eight 1-0 Sunday. (Photo courtesy of North Park University)

CHICAGO — The No. 4-ranked St. Thomas men’s soccer team fell 1-0 Sunday to host North Park University in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA playoffs.

The Vikings (7-0-1 conference, 20-1-1 overall) outshot the Tommies (10-0 MIAC, 22-2 overall) 20-9, and a goal in the 30th minute by Viking midfielder Shatil Khoury was all it took to put the game out of reach.

Sunday’s match was the second time all season that the Tommies were held

scoreless, and the first time since Sept. 8 against Capital (Columbus, Ohio). Both games accounted for the only two losses for St. Thomas this season.

The Tommies will graduate 10 players this season, including starting forwards Tyler and Justin Oliver, Pierce Erickson and Shae Bottum.

The Vikings advance to the semifinal round for the first time in program history. They take on the University of Chicago Dec. 1 for a spot in the national finals in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Noah Brown can be reached at brow7736@stthomas.edu.